African nations have fallen short of the goal of eradicating hunger by 2025 after twenty years of monitoring progress, the commissioner of the African Union Commission for Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy, and Sustainable Environment has disclosed.
Speaking at the 2025 Global Hunger Index (GHI) launch in Addis Ababa on Tuesday marking 20 years of tracking progress, Moses Vilakati noted that the report was released during a period of severe food insecurity in Africa.
"According to the 2025
UN FAO State of Food Security Report shows that nearly 300 million people on the
continent are food insecure. This aligns with our most recent CAADP Biennial
Review, which shows that no member state was on track to achieve zero hunger by
2025," Vilakati said.
He emphasized that Africa spent up to $100 billion annually on imported food instead of improving on its untapped potential. The commissioner tasked the African Union member states to eradicate hunger by 2035.
Welthungerhilfe (WHH) and Concern Worldwide release the Global Hunger Index annually using indicators like undernourishment, child wasting, child stunting, and child mortality to assess hunger at the national, regional, and global levels. The index has been a crucial benchmark for monitoring the global effort to eradicate hunger over the last 20 years.
Africa continues to face some of the most severe hunger challenges globally, driven by conflict, climate shocks, economic pressures, and limited agricultural productivity.
Humanitarian agencies have repeatedly warned that without major investments in resilient food systems, millions across the continent will remain vulnerable to chronic food insecurity.
